Disposable brush for paint and the like



Oct. 1, 1963 .1. c. GINTER 3,105,263

DISPOSABLE BRUSH F OR PAINT AND THE LIKE Filed July 19, 1961 Y INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,105,263 DTSPGSABLE BRUSH FGR PAINT AND THE LIKE James C. Ginter, 817 E. Del Mar, Pasadena, Calif. Filed July 19, 1961, Ser. No. 125,120 1 Claim. (Cl. 15244) The present invention relates generally to brushes of the type used for applying paint and similar finishes to a surface; and more especially to a disposable type of brush of this same character.

The experience of cleaning paint brushes after use is a common one. Brushes used with paint, varnish and similar protective coatings must be cleaned after use and before they are stored for any length of time, sometimes even only over night, in order that the bristles may be free of hardened paint and may remain soft and pliable. Otherwise the brush gets clogged with the hardened paint and not only may be unable to hold paint sufficiently long to distribute it well over a surface to be finished, but the bristles are so rigid that they do a poor job of spreading the paint. Cleaning brushes is a disagreeable and time consuming job even at best. This is particularly true when the cleaning must be very thorough as when the brushes are to be stored dry for a considerable period of time. While this problem has been reduced somewhat by the recent developments of water soluble paints, yet even with such paints there is a problem of the time spent in cleaning the brushes. To both the workman and the person for whom the job is being done, time is valuable and it Would be a considerable advantage if the time spent in cleaning brushes could instead be spent productively.

This can be accomplished if cleaning brushes is eliminated as a necessary step in their care; and this in turn is possible if the brush could be constructed in such a manner that it could be more easily and quickly cared for. Elimination of brush cleaning can be accomplished if the portion of the brush holding the paint is disposable so that it requires no cleaning after use.

Consequently it is a general object of the present invention to provide a brush of novel design and construction which is easily cared for and which requires little or no cleaning since the paint holding element is disposable.

Another object is to provide a paint brush of novel design and construction that will have the general feel and performance of a conventional bristle brush.

These and other objects of the invention are achieved according to the present invention by providing a brush comprising a solid impervious handle providing a grip by which the brush'is held, said handle having an integral extension projecting from one end of the grip. An envelope of soft spongy material surrounds and covers said extension, the envelope being adapted to absorb the paint and hold it while it is being spread over the surface to be covered. In a preferred embodiment, the extension is made integral with the grip and is so constructed, as by tapering the thickness or providing slots in the extension, that the extension supports the envelope suitably for painting while at the same time being sufliciently flexible that the extension and the envelope thereon bend in use in a manner comparable to conventional bristle brushes.

How the above and other objects of my invention are achieved will be more readily understood by reference to the following description and to the annexed drawing, in which:

FIG. I is an exploded perspective of the components of a paint brush constructed according to my invention in which the parts are in the relative position for the extension on the handle to be inserted into the envelope.

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FIG. 2 is an enlarged section and elevation of the paint brush with the envelope shown in section.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary section on line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a horizontal section on line 4-4 of FIG. 2.

Referring now to the drawing, it will be seen that the paint brush constructed according to my invention comprises a handle 10 consisting of two principal parts, a grip 11 and an extension 12. The grip 11 is formed in the same shape as the handle of the conventional paint brush and is the portion by which the brush is grasped for manipulation during the painting operation. The extension 12 projects beyond one end of the handle and is preferably, although not necessarily, made integral with the handle. The purpose of extension 12 is to provide an internal support for envelope 14 which normally surrounds and covers the extension.

The handle 10 and extension 12 are preferably a solid impervious integral member made of some material which is inert with respect to the solvents commonly used in paints, varnishes and so on. This member is well adapted to being manufactured by a molding process and is also adapted to being formed from any suitable synthetic resin or plastic, examples of suitable ones being nylon and polyethylene resins. If made by molding, the extension and the grip are preferably formed integrally in a single operation. However, it is within the scope of my invention to use a composite member in which the grip and the extension are made separately of different materials and then joined together. The handle, as shown in the drawings, is relatively thick and heavy; the extension 12 is relatively thin and tapering in thinness to its end.

The envelope 14 is made of a soft spongy material designed to absorb and hold paint and to spread the paint over a surface to which the paint is being applied. For painting operations, the envelope alone does not have suflicient inherent rigidity to perform this function; and therefore the extension 12 acts as a reinforcing core to give the necessary shape and stifiness to the envelope to permit painting.

In order to give the brush somewhat the action of a conventional bristle brush, the extension is made as a relatively thin, flexible member which is adapted to bend as the brush is being used to apply paint. This flexibility can be improved by tapering the extension outwardly to a relative thin edge, as may be seen particularly in FIG. 3. Not only the flexibility of the lower part of the extension but also the action of the brush may be improved by providing the extension with a plurality of slits or cuts 15 which extend inwardly from the lower edge of extension 12. This divides the outer portion of the extension adjacent the lower or outer edge into a plurality of segments which are individually flexible and which are not supported at their lateral edges by each other. This effect can be increased by increasing the number of the slits 1'5 and improves the ability of the brush to bend more in certain portions than in others. The purpose of this is to achieve painting action comparable to that of the conventional bristle brush and in such a manner as to render the brush of the present invention readily acceptable by people who are familiar with the ordinary bristle brush.

Flexibility of the extension can also be controlled by varying the composition of the material from which it is made. For this reason it may not be identical in composition With the grip part of the handle.

Envelope 14 preferably has a wedge shaped profile with well rounded corners when viewed in end elevation as in FIGS. 2. and 3 respectively. It is provided with an internal pocket 17 adapted to receive extension 12 which has itself a Wedge shaped appearance since it is preferably tapered both in thickness and in width in order that the envelope may slide readily up onto the extension. With some materials, the envelope may have sufficient frictional grip upon the faces of the extension that the envelope will remain in place on'the handle during painting operations. However, it is preferred to indent or recess the extension at the base end as indicated at 20* in order to provide a shoulder thereon. The envelope, being resilient, forms a corresponding projection 21 in the recess in engagement with the shoulder at one side thereof to resist removal of the envelope from the extension. One or more ribs 22 around the extension spaced a short distance below the grip may also be employed to increase the frictional engagement of the envelope with the handle extension.

It is contemplated that the envelope will be made of resilient materials which have enough natural elasticity to exert a substantial grip upon the extension and to remain thereon. In any material for which this is not the case, it may be preferred to embed at the upper end of the envelope an elastic member 23 which adds to the natural elasticity of the envelope and which draws the material of the envelope into recess 29 in order to increase resistance to removal of the envelope from the handle.

The envelope 14 is removable from the extension 12 by pulling it longitudinally off the extension. If the extension is not integral with the handle it is, in any case connected to and mounted on the handle so as to be substantially non-removable therefrom; that is, it is relatively non-removable from the handle while the envelope is relatively removable from the extension, so that pulling the envelope off does not dislocate the extension from the handle.

The envelope may be made from any suitable soft, spongy material which absorbs paint and holds the paint during the application to a surface, releasing the paint to be spread in a thin film in the manner of a bristle brush. For obvious reasons, the envelope is preferably inert with respect to the solvents used in paint, varnishes and the like. A suitable material for this purpose is a non-rigid foam made from a synthetic resin or plastic, such as polyester or polyurethane resins, but the invention is not limited to a particular material or materials.

The spongy material of the envelope is easily deformable, a characteristic which is especially advantageous when in working in corners as the envelope easily deforms to conform to any irregularities in the surface being painted. Another particular advantage of the spongy material is that it tends to hold the paint absorbed after being dipped in the paint and not allow the paint to run off in the manner of the ordinary brush. This is particularly advantageous in the case of the present brush when used on the ceiling or the like when the brush is held in an inverted position. This property of the present brush eliminates the tendency of the paint to run off the bristles and down the handle onto the grip of the brush as is common with conventional bristle brushes.

It is preferred to provide a skirt at the lower end of grip 11 to form a wall around the upper end of the envelope, as seen especially in FIGS. 2 and 3. Enclosing the upper end of the envelope improves the appearance and to some extent makes the envelope more secure in position.

And, as will be obvious, the skirt surrounding the handle proximate end of the envelope, will catch any paint tending to run down the envelope onto the handle when the brush is manipulated with the handle down.

The fact that no part of the envelope is larger than the handle-proximate end and skirt surrounded part prevents any paint from dripping down from the inverted envelope outside the skirt.

From the foregoing description it will be understood that various changes may be made in the arrangement and design with the component parts of the brush of my invention as well as in the material used to conform with these parts. Accordingly it is to be understood that the foregoing description is considered as being illustrative of, rather than limitative upon, the invention as defined by the appended claim.

'I claim:

A brush for the application of paint and the like comprising in combination: 7

an impervious, rigid and relatively thick elongate handle providing a grip for manually holding and manipulating the brush,

an impervious extension projecting fixedly longitudinally from one end of the handle, said extension being relatively broad in one sectional dimension and relatively thin in the other sectional dimension, and being flexible in the direction of its thin dimension at least in its longitudinal end portion remote from the handle,

the relative sectional dimensions of the handle and extension and the junction of the latter to the former being such as to provide a shoulder on said end of the handle facing in the direction of projection of the extension and completely surrounding the extension,

a longitudinally extending envelope of soft, spongy, re-

silient and paint adsorbent material surrounding and covering the extension and having an interior cavity extending from its end proximate the handle shoulder of substantially the same shape as the extension and of dimensions to resiliently grip the extension,

said envelope being removably mounted on said extension and relative to the handle solely by said resilient grip on the extension,

said envelope at its said handle-proximate end portion having cross-sectional dimensions substantially the same as the external dimensions of said extensionsurrounding shoulder, 7

said handleproximate end of the envelope fitting against said shoulder, and no portion of the envelope being substantially greater in either cross-sectional dimension than said handle-proximate end,

and a skirt projecting from the outside of the shouldered end of the handle and completely surrounding said shoulder and non-grippingly surrounding said handleproximate end portion of the envelope.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,631,133 Jones June 7, 1927 1,918,135 Resch July 11, 1933 2,409,933 Fleisher et a1. Oct. 22, 1946 2,688,499 Hanson Sept. 7, 1954 2,753,582 Fredericks July 10, 1956 2,784,435 Gubler Mar. 12, 1957 2,796,617 Bradshaw June 25, 1957 2,912,711 Hilton Nov. 17, 1959 2,946,073 Vosbikian et al July 26, 1960 2,962,746 Heroy et al. Dec. 6, 1960 3,059,262 Marschner Oct. 23, 1962 FOREIGN PATENTS 223,754 Australia Sept. 2, 1959 251,734 Great Britain May 13, 1926 

